Saladin

Salah ad-Din (1138-1193), better known as Saladin, was the second ruler of the Ayyubid Empire and a famous Muslim warrior. He defeated the Third Crusade through a diplomatic offensive, winning the Battle of Hattin and many other battles but losing at the Battle of Arsuf and Jaffa.

Biography
Correctly known as Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub, the warrior ruler familiar to Westerners as Saladin was a Kurd born in Tikrit in present-day Iraq. His family entered the service of the Zengid ruler, Nur ad-Din, in Syria and, from 1164, Saladin accompanied his uncle, Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, on a series of military expeditions to Egypt. There, he was initiated into combat, distinguishing himself in a victory over the Egyptian Fatimids on the banks of the Nile and withstanding a lengthy siege in the ancient city of Alexandria.

The two Kurdish warriors developed their own ambitions in Egypt, Saladin inheriting the position his uncle had gained as Vizier (high official) at the Fatimid court in 1169. Two years later he defeated the Fatimid caliph and took power for himself, founding the Ayyubid dynasty. After the death of Nur ad-Din in 1174, Saladin returned to Damascus, where he challenged the Zengids for control of Syria. The ensuing struggle continued for over a decade. While fighting his fellow Muslims in Syria, Saladin also undertook war against the crusader kingdoms of Palestine. Control of Jerusalem was the glittering prize he most sought.

In 1177, Saladin invaded Palestine, sacking strongholds along the coast. Underestimating the Christians and ill-informed of their movements, he allowed himself to be surprised at Montgisard with his forces dispersed. The result was a massacre that Saladin was fortunate to survive. He learned a lesson from this setback. For the rest of his career he would be prudent and patient, waiting for a chance to engage his enemy on his own terms. Saladin took his revenge two years later in a campaign that ended with the total destruction of a crusader fortress at Jacob’s Ford.

It was not until 1183 that the capture of Aleppo in Syria – a crucial breakthrough in his war with the Zengids – at last freed Saladin to focus on defeating the crusaders. He marched on Jerusalem, but was frustrated when the crusader army refused battle on unequal terms. No such judgment was exercised by King Guy, a French knight who ruled Jerusalem, when he faced Saladin at Hattin in 1187. The Christian army was slaughtered and Jerusalem exposed to a siege it could not withstand. Saladin entered the city on 2 October 1187, behaving with humanity and decency toward the defenders. This was policy as well as chivalry, for over the following years a number of crusader strongholds surrendered when assured of good treatment. However, his decision to release aristocratic prisoners allowed many to resume battle against him.

In failing health, and with limited control over the varied elements of his army, Saladin allowed the Christians to regain the initiative. King Guy, freed after his defeat at Hattin, led a siege of Acre from 1189. Saladin failed to relieve the city before Guy was joined by fresh crusaders from Europe in 1191, turning the balance of forces against him. He could only watch as Acre fell to the Christians, and he was defeated by Richard the Lionheart’s army at Arsuf and the following year at Jaffa.

Saladin’s grasp of strategy was still good enough to deny the crusaders a chance to retake Jerusalem, but he sought a peace deal with Richard. His famous gesture of sending fruit and ice to the fever-struck English king formed part of a diplomatic offensive that secured the crusader king’s departure in 1192. When Saladin died shortly after, he was still in possession of the Holy City.